Lady In Red
by Kitsune Moonstar
Summary: Misaki hadn't intended to go out to the festival tonight, but she finds herself glad she did.


Author's note: I don't own Darker Than Black or its characters. This is set after the first season.

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**Lady in Red**

Misaki wasn't quite sure what made her pull out the red yukata. She hadn't originally planned on going out tonight. Yes, it was Obon, but she wasn't in the mood for a party. Yesterday she and her father had visited her mother's grave like they always did. It was a familiar ritual, and it still brought Misaki comfort. Though she had to admit that this year Misaki was more confused than anything else. She was still dealing with her turmoil from the Hell's Gate incident and everything that went along with.

But as she had been going through her closet, Misaki had stumbled across the red yukata with its pattern little white flowers. And she had suddenly felt the need to get out for a while. It hadn't taken her long to dress, find a pair of sandals, a handbag, and a fan, and head out to the train station. Misaki had quickly decided that she wasn't going to go to the festival set up at the local shrine. Instead, she hopped a train out to Fuchu, the suburb of Tokyo where she'd lived as a child.

The town had a large shrine, and Misaki remembered the festivals there always being great. When Misaki stepped off the train, she found herself just another face in the crowd. It was rather nice. The station was almost right next to the shrine, and Misaki quickly made her way to the grounds. Before she had even reached the shrine itself, she had bought herself several skewers of yakitori to nibble on.

Okunitama Shrine was just as she remembered it. Misaki wandered along the tree line path to the shrine, browsing through all the booths of food, games, and items for sale. She passed a platform that was set up for dancers. There was already quite a crowd gathered there, and while she passed it by for the moment, Misaki was planning to come back and dance herself later on.

But first she was going to visit the shrine and make her offering. Misaki didn't have a specific prayer in mind tonight. She just took a moment to simply be. Then she went and bought an omamori for herself. Her mother had bought her a new one every year at Obon when she was little. It was a tradition that Misaki tried to keep when she could. Leaving the shrine proper, Misaki rejoined the festivities.

It didn't take long before she was relaxed and enjoying herself. Misaki made a dinner of festival food and cheap beer. She got caught up in the dance, and for the first time in months, Misaki simply was. A pair of hands took hers and spun her into the next of steps, and Misaki came to stare into a pair of familiar blue eyes. Hei smiled at her, and they continued to dance. When the dance ended, he tugged her way from the crowd, and Misaki followed.

They walked together among the other festival goers, and Misaki had no doubt they were probably being mistaken for a couple. She didn't really care. She had no idea why Hei had returned to her life at this point, but Misaki was willing to see where this went.

"You wore the same color when we first met you know." Hei smiled at her. "Red suits you."

Misaki found herself blushing. "You remember that dress?"

"You looked beautiful that night. Tonight too." He was blushing too. "All the time really."

They walked in silence for some more until they reached an unoccupied bench. The two of them sat down side by side, and Hei slipped his fingers between hers.

"Have you been well? I haven't been able to keep track of you much."

She nodded. "Things haven't changed that much."

"I've been hunting down as many members of the syndicate as I can find. They might try again with the Gate, and I can't risk that. At least, they don't seem to be going after you. I was worried about that."

"Have you been all right?"

He nodded. "Yin and I have managed to keep under the radar for the most part. It's been odd being constantly on the move again. I got used to at least having a base of operations that I could come back to. And I've missed seeing you on a regular basis. You always have had a way of letting me just be myself when I'm with you."

Misaki knew exactly what he meant. He had done the same thing for her more than once. Of course, most of those times she hadn't really known his true identity, but she had known him and that was enough. Part of her just wanted to enjoy this moment they had, but her curiosity wouldn't be silence.

"Why seek me out tonight?"

Hei shrugged. "It was coincidence. Or maybe not. Yin wanted to come here tonight; she may have known. But I saw you in the crowd, and I didn't want to let the opportunity pass me by. I didn't know when I would see you again."

She waited. Hei sighed and looked down at their joined hands.

"We're leaving the Tokyo area soon. We'll probably be leaving Japan all together for a while. I don't know when we'll be back." He reached up to touch her cheek with his free hand. "I wanted to say goodbye."

And then he kissed her. Misaki closed her eyes and kissed him back. Then Hei drew back and rest his forehead against hers.

"I'll see you again, my Lady in Red."

He was gone moments later. But when Misaki finally returned home that night, she found that the blue omamori she had purchased for success at work had been replaced by a red one for general protection. Misaki simply attached it to her purse as a reminder.


End file.
